You Can't Choose Your Family
by BeckyBelikova9
Summary: Dimitri's father makes an appearance, asking to be forgiven. Contains scene of child abuse in the first chapter. Disclaimer: If you've seen it somewhere else, it's probably not mine.
1. The Rehearsal

Every year, on November first, St. Vladimir's Academy had the privilege of receiving a royal visit from their queen, Tatiana, and, in honour of Her Majesty, every year, the students prepared a Royal Variety Show, with acts of every kind. There were singers; solo acts and the choir, dancers; everything from break-dancing to ballet, solo violinists, and guitarists, and cello players, as well as the orchestra, and sometimes they put on scenes from Hamlet, or Romeo and Juliet, or another great play. It was a fantastic event, the talent of their students a great source of pride to the teachers.

Being chosen to participate in the gala was a great honour. It was the deepest desire of many of the students (mostly royals themselves), who could sing, dance, play an instrument, or act. It was also intimidating, performing for the queen, but it was more of a nervous exitement, than a fear. Being forced on stage however, when you were too young to know what was going on, when you didn't even know why this lady was so important, was an entirely different matter. It was _petrifying_.

"Don't make me!" Rose cried, as Ms. Donovan dragged her, by the arm, onto the stage for rehearsal. "Why do I have to do it? I'm not even that good!"

"You'll do," the young woman snapped. She was in her early thirties, her light brown hair tied up in a severe bun, no trace of kindness, or pity in her eyes towards the five year old she was currently man-handling.

"I don't think we should make her sing if she doesn't want to," Alberta said, frowning, from her position at the side of the stage. "I mean, she's clearly terrified." Alberta wasn't wrong. Once Rose had found out why they were teaching her that "song with the funny words", as she called it, that she was going to have to sing it in front of the whole school, visiting royals and parents, making a two thousand strong crowd, she'd started to panic. Now, standing in the middle of the stage, looking out at the gigantic auditorium, she was frozen.

"That's not up to you," Ms. Donovan retorted angrily. "Rosemarie has to learn that it's not always about what she wants."

"If you've ever watched her play with the Dragomir girl, or any of her other friends, you'd know that Rose barely ever thinks about what _she_ wants." Alberta replied, the forty year old guardian equally as angry.

Before either of them could say another word however, Rose piped up, in a voice unusually quiet for the enrgetic young girl.

"Are all those seats gonna be full of people?" Her eyes had gone slightly wide. "'Cause that's a lot of people." The large theater was naturally larger from the perspective of a five year old. Not to mention scarier.

"Yeah, hun, it probably will be," Alberta told her gently, regretting her honesty as she saw Rose's eyes go wider. She'd always had a soft spot for Rose. She brought a lot of joy into the lives of the teachers and guardians, even if Ms. Donovan loathed her, making the child's life extremely difficult. Of course, Ms. Donovan hated all children, but she just seemed to like picking on Rose. Alberta despised the woman.

"I can't do it," Rose mumbled, her lower lip trembling. "I'll forget the words, and if I 'member I won't be that good."

"You will not forget the words," Ms. Donovan said, without remorse, "You've been learning that song for the last eight months, you know it perfectly." Luckily that was when Mrs. Andrews, the gala co-ordinator, walked on stage, all of the other performers (the next youngest being thirteen), and the other three directors of the show, filing in and taking seats in the audience. Alberta closed her mouth, deciding to have a private word with Mrs. Andrews about removing Rose from the show later.

"Okay, everyone," Mrs. Andrews said cheerfully, clapping her hands together as she faced the performers and her colleagues. She was a middle-aged moroi woman, her black, cropped hair showing minimal grey. "Today is our first run through of the performence, but I'd just like to start with Rose here, to make sure that we can hear her, because she may need a bit more amplification than the rest of you, and we'll need to sort that out quickly." She turned to Rose. "Whenever you're ready then, Rose." She and Ms. Donovan left the stage, and Alberta retreated into the shadows, back to her post.

Rose stayed silent, just looking at everyone in front of her. There was at least forty people. She looked at Mrs. Andrews, who was nodding ecouragingly, and got her voice back.

"I don't wanna sing, I'm no good, make someone else do it!"

There was a collective groan from those assembled. Mrs. Andrews' smile faltered a little, but she started to say "Of course you're a good – "

"I'll talk to her," Ms. Donovan said, cutting her off. She marched back onto the stage, grabbed Rose and led her backstage where no-one could see. Grabbing the little girl firmly by the shoulders, she started to shake her. Hard.

"I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times," the evil woman hissed, as Rose's head whipped from side to side. "You are doing this! I have put far too much effort into teaching you, you little brat, that wretched song, and you are going to sing it, whether you like it or not!" With that, she threw Rose from her, not hard enough to make any noise that would alert anyone, but hard enough. Rose looked around her, completely dazed. After a moment, she focused on her attacker, and her little face hardened.

"I hate you!" she spat, with more venom than a five year old should be able put into a sentence. "You're just a big bully, and I hate you. I'm not the naughty one, you are! And if you hit me again," she added, as Ms. Donovan raised her hand, "I'll tell Alberta, and then you'll get it!" Without waiting for a reply, she stood up, and strode past her, saying "I'll sing your stupid song today, but I'm not doing for doin' it for Her Maj'sty, I don't care."

Rose did sing then. It was a song from the russian opera, "Little Red Riding Hood", and they had indeed been drilling it into the child for the last eight months, since someone discovered she could sing. And she really could sing. Rose had an incedible, sweet voice, powerful for so young a girl, astoundingly good had she been an adult, never mind the fact that she was five. She was true to her word, that she would sing that day, and Alberta did appeal to Mrs. Andrews. Yet, neither Rose's, nor Alberta's objections, were enough to get her out of performing in the gala. Mrs. Andrews simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to show off this young girl's voice. It wasn't a good thing at the time, making her perform against her will. However Rose didn't regret her forced participation when she was older, and realised the important connection she had been able to make.


	2. Admissions of Guilt

Rose looked around the large hall, trying to find Benedikt. The room was crowded, mostly with visiting royals and the performers, teachers interspersed amongst them, with guardians standing along the walls. This year was Rose's fourth time singing in the gala, and her fourth after party. She was so sick of being paraded around in front of these people, of having to be so polite to all those snotty rich royals, who couldn't care less about any of the students that had worked so hard on the show. She generally hid, because she'd gotten in trouble last year for being rude, even though Lady Lazar had been _so _much meaner to Rose. So, she didn't speak to anyone. Well, nearly. The only one Rose would talk to, was Benedikt Taurus.

She edged along the crimson wall of the banquet room, where Kirova was hosting the guests, searching for Benedikt. Kirova was currently standing to one side of Tatiana's chair, while the queen was saying something or other. Tatiana's face then turned towards Rose. She quickly ducked under one of tables against the wall, afraid the queen would call her over. Rose was not in the mood for entertaining her "betters". She sat there for a few minutes, hidden by the table cloth, watching people's legs go by, occasionally stopping. Then someone bent down, yanked up the table cloth, and peered under. Rose let out a breath when she saw who it was.

"Benedikt!" She scrambled out from under the table, and threw her arms around him. She'd been beginning to doubt whether he'd came at all. He'd written and said he would, but she'd been worried all the same.

"There you are, Rozochka," Benedikt said, bending down so he could hug her properly. At six foot ten, he was the tallest person Rose knew. He spoke with a thick, Russian accent, that Rose liked trying to imitate, and had blue eyes, paired with longish blonde hair. Rose admitted that he was okay looking, for a guy who was thirty-five.

"You were marvelous Rose, astounding! As usual of course." Rose beamed at him. "Why don't we go outside? It's very warm in here."

Benedikt grabbed a couple of glasses of orange juice off the table, and he and Rose went outside, to the patio. They'd met at the gala after party two years ago. It had been very late, and Rose had been crying that she wanted to go to bed. Ms. Donovan had gotten very angry at her, and kept trying to drag her back to the party, eventually backhanding the six year old. She then resorted to her old favourite, shaking Rose, and thowing her about. Benedikt, coming back from the bathroom, had seen it all. He pried Ms. Donovan off of Rose, and then started to scream at her, saying that she had absolutely no right to treat anyone like that, much less someone smaller, that she was an absolutely despicable person, who didn't even deserve the air she breathed. He went absolutely beserk. The racket drew the attention of the guardians, who proceeded to take Ms. Donovan into custody, to the immense satisfaction of Alberta. Ms. Donovan still had fifteen years left in prison. Benedikt still wrote and called every so often, just to make sure Rose was okay.

"There we are," Benedikt said, sitting down at one of the snowless tables, and placing Rose's glass in front of her. He zipped up her coat, making sure she was warm. It was a beautiful day, but Benedikt would soon grow tired in the sun. "Now, why were you hiding, Rozochka?"

"From Tatiana," Rose explained. "She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you," he replied, "Who could hate _you_? Besides," he added wryly, "Since when do you run from confrontations, such as that?"

"Since I'm sleepy, and wanna go to bed. Witty remarks need effort you know. It's easier when I'm awake."

Benedikt just chuckled at the precocious eight year old, and drank his juice. Rose watched him drink it for a moment before asking "Don't you like wine?"

"Hmm?" He turned to her. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because I've never seen you drink anything other than juice and water," Rose explained. "All the other grown-ups drink wine, or the sparkly wine. Why don't you?"

Benedikt chuckled again, this time ruefully. "Very observant, aren't you?" He said after a moment. He rubbed his face tiredly, then turned to face Rose full on. "I'm going to tell you something, Rose," he said, "Something that you're probably too young to know, but I think you will understand. You just have to promise not to tell anyone, alright?"

Rose nodded eagerly, and waited for Benedikt to start. "The reason that I don't drink alcohol – "

"Like wine and beer?" Rose piped up.

"Yes, like wine and beer," he replied patiently, "Is because I have a drinking problem. That means," he added quickly, as Rose had just opened her mouth, "That I'm not able to stop drinking when I start."

"Why not?" Rose asked.

"Because," Benedikt began, "Well, because I suppose I'm weaker than others," he finished with a sigh. "And when I'm drunk, I have a tendency to do things that I'm not very proud of. I haven't drank alcohol in two years."

"Like what?" Rose cocked her head to one side, and looked at him confused. Benedikt was awesome, what could he have done?

"Like hurting people," he said simply. "I can't blame it entirely for what I've done, though I'd like to, but stopping drinking has helped me get my life back." Benedikt looked very sad at that point. "But I can never get _them_ back." He'd said that more to himself, than to Rose.

"Who?" Rose was getting more, and more curious. She knew what an alcoholic was, Alberta called Mr. Nagy one all the time, and it was hard to believe that Benedikt had ever been one. No, no-way was Benedikt as bad as he was saying, he'd never _hurt_ anyone.

"My family," he told her. "Though I doubt my three oldest will ever acknowledge me as such. They have few memories of me, other than me doing some terrible things." He looked lost in bad memories. "I will always hate myself for what I've done." He smiled again, this time slightly happier. "But I will always be so, so proud of my son. He protected his mother and sisters. Only a boy, and more of a man than I am."

"Protected them from _you_?" Rose asked, shocked. He nodded. For some reason, this knowledge made Rose pity Benedikt, instead of making her fear him. He was clearly very guilty about it. They were silent again, before Rose asked "Why are you telling me this? Grown-ups don't normally tell kids this stuff."

"Because you're a very special little girl, and because it's good to tell someone. Even someone so young as you." He added, smiling again.

They were both silent for another few moments, before Rose said earnestly "But they're your family, and you're sorry, why don't you just tell them that? I'll tell them too, and how cool you are."

Benedikt smiled slightly, and kissed Rose on the top of her head.

"Because if they don't want anything to do with me, then I must respect that."

"But – "

"It's not that easy Rozochka. It's not that easy."


	3. Heart Break

**A/N:- I know in the books it's "Dimka", but adding –ka to the end of someone's name is actually very rude in Russia, and something that teenage boys would probably do to their friends. For example, Dimitri and Ivan would probably have called one another "Vanka" and "Dimka", instead of "Vanya" and "Dima". I love Richelle Mead, I really do, but I can't bring myself to write "Dimka". I just can't . And adding –ochka, -enka, or the like, would be making someone small, and cute. "Dimochka" for example. Rewiew if you want Olena to call Dimitri this in front of Christian and Mikhail!**

He had to see her. He'd just heard, finally, about what had happened, that – He couldn't even think about it. He didn't want to think about it. He shouldn't even be here, he couldn't be in their lives, he had no right to be, no right to intrude now. They didn't want him and he could hardly blame them. He was no good for them, not after what he'd done. It was better he stay away. They were happy.

Yet he still knocked on the door. It was late, but there was a light still on in the sitting room of the two-storey house he had bought her when she told him she was pregnant with their first child. He'd been overjoyed. Scared, but happy. Then he'd messed it all up so thoroughly he could hardly live with himself.

His heart pounded as he heard someone open the door to the sitting room, and saw light spill into the hall, saw a shadow move to the door. It opened, and she froze, her eyes wide with shock, as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Benedikt?"

"Hello Olena," Benedikt said, drinking in the sight of her. Twelve years, and she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. "I know it's late," he started, "And I know that you don't want to see me – "

"You're right, I don't," Olena cut him off. "You have no business here, not anymore. You need to leave." She started to close the door, but Benedikt started pleading.

"Please, Olena, just tell me one thing, I need to know _one thing_, then you'll be rid of me forever. Please."

She paused, considering. Then she nodded, waiting for him to speak.

Benedikt faltered a little before saying "I know that it was incredibly foolish, me coming here tonight, but I had to know, I, I had to ask you – " He stopped there, looking at the ground, unable to continue. He didn't need to.

"You heard about Dima." It wasn't a question. He nodded. "And you want to know if it's true." Another nod. They looked at each other for a long while before Olena finally said, sounding as though she had a slight head cold "It is. Dimitri's dead."

Benedikt covered his mouth with his hand, and turned away slowly, trying to hold himself together. His son. His boy was dead. Benedikt thought he could feel his heart breaking. His son, Dima, was dead. Benedikt thought he heard Olena calling his name as though from very far away. Taking in a deep breath, he turned back around. Olena was watching him curiously. She'd just crossed over the threshold.

"Are you okay?"

"I'd heard, but, I never wanted to believe it," he said, agony clear in his voice. "I thought you could confirm the story." He took a deep breath before saying "Our son died a hero. He was too young, far too young, but he," He couldn't go on. Olena finished for him.

"He would want to go protecting people. That's what his girlfriend says, at least."

"Girlfriend?" Benedikt looked up, his interest peeked. His son had a girlfriend? He hadn't known that, and he'd been keeping a close watch on all his children. Without their knowledge of course.

"Yes, an american girl," Olena said with a small smile. "You'd like her. She was the one who told us about Dima. She left a week ago. I'd hoped that she would have stayed, she's a wonderful girl." She regarded Benedikt closely, not saying anything more.

"How are the girls?" He asked finally.

"They're all very well. Viktoria is back at school. Karolina just had another baby, and Sonya's pregnant." Olena smiled. "She's hoping for a girl."

"If it's alright," Benedikt said, uncertainly, "I'd like to see all of them. If they want to see me of course."

Olena said nothing for a long while. She could remember the last eight years of their relationship very clearly, despite all the time that has passed. The trips to the hospital, the screaming, Karolina, Dimitri and Sonya begging her to leave him. She could also, however, remember the first ten. And they had been wonderful.

Olena stood back to let Benedikt pass. "I don't think the girls are asleep yet. Would you like to come in?"

A smile lit up his face.

"I would love to."


	4. Any News At All

When you haven't seen your child in over two years, not to mention having lost track of where exactly they are in the world, you become a bit desperate for news. Nearly anything at all will do. An off-hand comment, a bad picture, a couple of lines in an e-mail. As long as it's _news_. What won't do however, is having a teenage girl deliver the devasting news no parent wants to hear. That their child has been killed. That that last good-bye, was _the_ last good-bye. There won't be anymore updates, no more letters, no more long-distance phone-calls, no more terrible pictures taken with those disposable cameras. No parent wants to mourn their child. But they it's doubtful they would mind being told that said child, has seemingly risen from the dead. It's believing it, that they have a problem with.

Olena Belikova looked at the father of her children in shock. No way was this true, surely Benedikt must be mistaken, it can't be, she couldn't get her hopes up like that, he shouldn't _try_ to get her hopes up like that. Her daughters were equally disbelieving.

"Impossible," Sonya said eventually, her eyes wide. There had been a long silence after her father had announced the news. "It can't be, Dima is dead, Rose said he was dead! She came all the way out here to tell us that!"

Yeva, being the only one who knew Rose's real reason for coming to Siberia, said nothing from her position in the good armchair by the fire. If Rose wanted to tell them when her and Dima finally visited, that was her decision. Although Yeva knew her daughter wouldn't be delighted if she found out. Her two youngest granddaughters would think it was terribly romantic, and would "coo" and "aww". Karolina would think it noble and brave, and wouldn't romanticise it.

"Actually, Rose claimed he'd been turned," Viktoria pointed out. "She never said "dead". She said he was strigoi."

"It's true," Benedikt told them. He was currently sitting on the coffee table, facing Olena and their daughters. "You heard about Vasilisa's ability to restore strigoi, that she _did_ restore one? It was Dima, I know it was!" He got up and started pacing the room, unable to sit down any longer. He was clearly very excited at the news. "The second I got confirmation from Rose, I flew out here to tell you. She says she's planning on surprising him with a trip to Russia for Christmas!"

"They'll be here in few months?" Olena asked, her hand over her heart. "We'll see Dimitri in _three_ months?" Karolina's hands flew to her mouth, tears of joy in her eyes. Viktoria squealed, and started bouncing up and down on the sofa. Sonya seemed frozen, and Yeva looked up sharply from her knitting. It was going to take that long for them to come out here?

"He'd better call soon, if he's going to make us wait that long to see him," Yeva said, looking at Benedikt. She wasn't thrilled that Olena was considering getting back together with him. It was bad enough she let him in the house at all. Karolina and Sonya shared her views, although Sonya was slowly being won over. Viktoria, who remembered nothing, had accepted her father pretty quick. The fact that he spoiled her helped.

"According to Rose, he's not going to call, as he thinks you won't believe he's dhampir again," Benedikt explained. "Understandable, as his voice will be the same, no matter what he is, won't it?"

Yeva shrugged, and went back to her knitting. Okay, she could accept that. A little.

Karolina shook her head. "I still can't believe, that you've known Rose since she was six. What are the odds? And does Rose know who you are?"

Benedikt just shrugged. "I thought it best if she doesn't know quite yet," he explained. "I told her a bit about the past, but I don't know what Dima's told her." He smiled. "She actually said she was willing to appeal to you, on my behalf. Granted, she was eight at the time." At that point he frowned. "She might not side with him, when they get here."

"What do you mean?" Olena asked, frowning.

"Dimitri was the one who finally, well – " Sonya began, glancing at her father.

"Who put me in my place," Benedikt finished for her. "I don't regret what he did," as Olena opened her mouth. "It was about time. I do regret however, that I needed my thirteen year old son to do it." He looked round at them all. "You've heard me speak on this before. I do love all of you, and would like the chance to be a family again, but Dima might put up more resistance than the rest of you did." It was speeches similar to this that had won over Olena and Viktoria. As well as his reaction to Dimitri's death.

Olena stood up and strode over to him, clasping his hand. "We'll just have to talk to him, explain the situation, that's all. The fact that Rose has known you for so long, will surely help."

Benedikt smiled slightly, but said nothing. He didn't think it would be that easy.

After a moment Karolina said "Can you get the details of their trip from Rose? We'll need to buy presents, and prepare a room for them, a homecoming party maybe – "

"They're going to arrive on the twenty-ninth," Benedikt replied. "Rose said she planned it so they can see can see St. Petersburg and Moscow."

"Does Dima really not know they're coming?" Viktoria asked, grinning.

"No, Rose apparently lied, and told him the earliest they can get away from Court is the summer. She sounded very pleased with herself."

As pleased as _everyone_ was with this information, that they would be seeing Dimitri in the flesh in just a few months, Karolina couldn't help but feel slightly apprehensive about Dimitri seeing their father again. She had a feeling that he may have completely won over Sonya, and started to win _her _over, by Christmas. He just seemed so _sincere_. Also, considering the fact that she had been eight when he started drinking, she had quite a lot memories of actually _looking forward_ to his visits. And there had been a lot of visits. A lot of phone calls, and letters, and presents in the post. The first eight years of her life had been happy. Her father had already proven himself somewhat, when he visited now. At the request of her mother, those visits were getting more frequent. They might even start seeing him every week or so, as they had before he started to drink. Dimitri had been right, when he said that Karolina always made smarter decisions than the other two. Her decision this time however, would probably not be met with his approval: she wasn't just going to cut him out. No. No, she was going to wait, and see. She had a feeling she could trust him.


	5. Christmas no 1

When you've spent a total of _one_ Christmas with your mother, and _zero_ with your father (that you can remember), it's incredibly difficult trying to figure out what to get them. I mean, Abe's loaded, what could I possibly buy him that he'd want or need? Not to mention my oh-so-practical mother, who doesn't own a single thing that could be considered "frivolous". Plus, she repeatedly said that she didn't need anything. I had absolutely no idea what to get them. To make matters worse, it was six o'clock, on the twenty-fourth, and "desperate" didn't even begin to cover it.

"This is impossible!" I exclaimed, as Dimitri and I checked the books aisle, yet again, disregarding the same items, as the previous times. We'd gone round the whole store twice. I was having absolutely no luck at all. Dimitri was "helping". He seemed to find my lack of ideas on what to get my parents funny. Well, at least one of us was enjoying themself.

"Why don't you just ask them what they'd like?" Dimitri asked, fighting a smile.

I rolled my eyes. "Because my mother will tell me that she doesn't need anything, and not to get her a present, which will lead to an argument on Christmas day, when I give her something anyway. And my father will just smile, and tell me to figure it out."

Dimitri shook his head, and took a Kathy Reichs book off the shelf. The small supermarket at Court didn't have a great selection. Unfortunately, it was the only place open on Christmas Eve. "Your mother might like this," he said, reading the back. He grinned slightly "She could try solve it before she reaches the end."

"She may have had enough of murder mysteries over the summer," I replied, taking the book from him, and looking at it thoughtfuly. She _might_ like it. I'd heard her mention one of Agatha Christie's novels to my father. "Okay," I said eventually. "We'll get her this, and that nice sweater we saw." I sighed. "Now for Abe." At least we didn't have to buy for anyone else. We'd gotten Lissa, Christian, Mia, Sonya and Mikhail's presents a week ago. I was _way_ too excited over the fact that we'd picked them out together, but after everything we'd been through, not to mention Dimtri having been in Palm springs since the middle of November, I was delighting in the ordinary. I could tell Dimtri was too. I hoped he liked _his _present. Three weeks of ordinary family time in Russia. We left in under two days, and he still had no idea.

"How about a scarf?" Dimitri suggested, grinning more widely. "Or one of those singing sweaters? With Rudolf?"

"I think I liked it better when you _afraid_ of my parents." Their little hunting trip had had the opposite effect of what I'd imagined. Also, Lord Szelsky wasn't planning on leaving Court until the end of January, and since Abe ran his own schedule, they were here for a while, and Dimitri'd gotten used to them. That, and Abe insisted on "Family Night" most Thursdays. Which normally invloved me cheating at scrabble. And _still _losing.

"You were the one who wanted us to get to know one another," Dimitri reminded me. "Family bonding, remember? And I was never afraid of your parents."

"Of course, you weren't Comrade." We started walking back towards the clothing section where we'd seen this dark green, finely knit sweater, that would look great on my mother. "And I only wanted you to get to know each other better, so my mother wouldn't shoot you. If I'd known it would result in the three off you ganging up on me all the time, I wouldn't have been so eager. Now what are we getting Abe?"

He sighed, and rolled his eyes. "We weren't ganging up on you Roza. You'd been _shot_." Between the three of them, I'd been thoroughly coddled and pampered for about a month. Dimitri then grabbed my elbow and gently pulled me to him, wrapping an arm around my waist. My breath caught slightly. "Sorry for wanting you heal properly. Your well being is one area where the three of us will never disagree." Dimitri tilted me head back, and briefly brought his lips to mine. Not hiding our feelings was another thing we were both enjoying. Although, I was fairly certain the only reason he was holding me this close, was because the store was deserted.

"Hmm... to-may-to, to-mah-to," I breathed pulling back and grabbing his hand, pulling him towards the clothes. He chuckled, and put his arm around my shoulders, but became lost in thought as we reached the clothing aisle, found the right sweater, and headed over to the funky looking scarves.

I didn't ask him what he was thinking, not having the need. I knew that picking out presents for _my_ family, had him thinking about his own. It was obvious that he missed them like crazy. He'd been down for days, when Hans had refused to give us any time off until the summer, citing the chaos that had enveloped Court. What he didn't know, was that I'd gone back to Hans, and eventually managed to convince him to let us go, which was not easy, _believe me_. I'd also told him not to mention it to Dimitri, which, thankfully, he'd agreed to as well.

So, I didn't say anything about his family, afraid I'd give away the surprise, as we combed through the scarves, and novelty sweaters, eventually deciding on a dark blue scarf, with a snowman pattern, and a red sweater with rudolf's head on the front. His nose lit up. We'd also gotten him The Count of Monte Cristo on DVD. I was going to try and squeeze a file into it.

The next day passed great, with my parents coming up to our apartment before breakfast, and Lissa and Christian coming down from the penthouse. Lissa, Christian and I were still in our pajamas when we exchanged gifts, and ate cereal in front of the T.V. The three of us had designated "Teen-Days", where we got to pretend we were actually teenagers. They mostly involved activities such as Saturday cartoons, pillow fights, and any other juvenile thing we could think of, that didn't correspond with our high responsibility careers.

Sonya and Mikhail stopped by just before dinner, but we didn't see Mia, as she had gone with her father to visit some relatives in Wyoming. We all spent the greatest part of the day together, my colleagues on the Royal Guard, flitting in and out occasionally. I'd discovered two things about the Guard, soon after I'd gone on active duty: the first, was that all of us were accomodated in the palace. The second, no-one knocked. Ever. We all just strolled right on in, sometimes calling out that we only needed some milk, or sugar, before getting it ourselves, and leaving. Dimitri and I payed them back in kind.

At ten o'clock however, I thought should tell Dimitri about the trip, considering we really needed to pack. Our flight was at four in the afternoon, and we had a two and a half hour drive ahead of us.

"Hey, Comrade," I said, coming back into the sitting room from the bedroom, ginning, waving the envelope in my hand. "Want your Christmas present now?"

He looked from the western he was reading, eyebrow quirked. "I thought I was reading my Christmas present?" I gotten him two Zane Grey novels, so he could have something to open earlier. Beside him, watching The Count of Monte Cristo, and sporting his new sweater and scarf ensemble, Abe chuckled.

On the other side of Abe, my mother, in _her_ new sweater (she'd loved the book too), piped up. "I still think you should have given him more warning. What if he has to buy anything?"

"But this way is so romantic," Lissa said, from her postion on the floor, in front of the coffee table, snuggled into Christian's side. "And it'll be more fun."

"Of course ," Abe agreed, "A bit of spontanaeity never hurt anyone."

Sonya, sitting on the arm of Mikhail's chair, started laughing, saying "I think you should tell him, Dimitri looks awfully confused."

Lissa giggled. "You should see his aura."

Dimitri was indeed looking between all of us, wondering what on earth we were talking about. I gave him the envelope, grinning still more widely. I started laughing as his jaw dropped, once he got a good look at the contents. A pair of plane tickets, and boarding passes, from Lehigh Airport, to St. Petersburg, leaving in six hours.

"Come on Dimka," Mikhail laughed, snapping his fingers. "You've got a plane to catch, better get packing."

Dimitri turned to look at me leaning against the wall. "Hans refused us time off."

"My puppy-dog eyes are more convincing than yours," I shrugged, still smiling. "He's right, we've got to pack. We need to be on the road in an hour."

"How did you convince him? It seemed like he wasn't going to budge to me."

"I was a little bit more, eh, persistent."

"Translation: She'd bugged him until he _wanted_ her out of Court," Christian added. That might have been slightly true, but I still jokingly threw a cushion at him.

Dimitri looked round at everyone. "You all knew? Who else knew?"

At that moment Kyle Gilmore, a member of the Royal Guard walked in. He was a sandy-haired, twenty-nine year old, who Dimitri happened to get along best with, out of the entire Guard. Excluding me of course. He'd just caught the end of Dimitri's sentence. "Who else knew what?" He asked. Catching sight of Lissa, he came to an aburpt halt, and bowed respectfully. "Your Majesty. Lord Ozera."

Lissa greeted him, just as respectfully, and told him that I'd just given Dimitri his Christmas present. Kyle replied that it was about time, and now he didn't have to worry about letting something slip. He left after we exchanged gifts, and then Dimitri and I went into the bedroom to pack. I'd done every single piece of laundry last night, so we'd have enough clothes. While we packed, the others said that they would get started on cleaning the kitchen and sitting room, so we could get out of here as fast as possible.

Dimitri was ecstatic. He'd thought that he wouldn't be able to see his family until July, at the earliest. While I was folding some of my T-shirts, and telling Dimitri what exactly the plan was for the next three weeks, I recieved a text message.

"Who's that from?" Dimitri asked, tossing socks into his suitcase. We'd both been getting messages from guardians at the academy, and all around Court, all day.

"A friend of mine, Ben," I replied. "He says Happy Christmas, and to enjoy the trip." I scrolled down. "And apparently, I'll see him soon." I was happy about that. I hadn't seen Benedikt since the start of the month, although we'd spoken on the phone, and e-mailed. "If it's before you and Sonya go back to Palm Springs, I'll introduce you, you'll both get along great."

"That's the friend who bought you the laptop, as a graduation present, isn't it?"

I told him that was the one, and we kept on packing. While we did so, I was debating about whether or not to tell Dimitri, about how I'd met Benedikt. I knew that I was going to, eventually, but I thought that I should wait until we came back, and I'd actually introduced the two of them. Dimitri, I thought, would love Benedikt. They had similar opinions on moroi fighting (we all did), and I knew Benedikt was as repulsed by moroi men taking advantage of dhampir girls, as Dimitri. Plus Ben loved Clint Eastwood, so I figured they could have a debate about who's the more bad-ass cowboy, him or John Wayne. Benedikt meant a lot to me, so I was looking forward to them meeting.

We actually managed to get out of Court on time, my parents walking us to the garages, my father pressing some rubles into my hand, telling me to "buy something nice", for myself. We'd said goodbye to Lissa, Christian, Sonya and Mikhail at home, Lissa instructing us to call on New Year's, and Christian, Dimitri and Mikhail doing what Lissa, Mia and I called a "man hug". You know, where they shake hands, whilst simultaneously slapping each other on the back.

We were both practically giddy as we drove out of the garage, me waving energetically to my mother and father. I couldn't wait to see the Belikovs, Dimitri even more so. I'd gotten my family back, spent Christmas with them, and now we were going to spend Christmas in Russia, meaning Dimitri could reconnect with his family. This was going to be the best Christmas ever.

**A/N:- In Russia they celebrate Christmas Day, as in Jesus' Birthday, on the 7th of January. This is due to the fact that the Orthodox church goes by the old Julian calender, whereas the west goes by the Georgian calender. So, Dimitri and Rose get two Christmases, because I'm assuming that because they live in the US, they're going to celebrate on the 25th, despite most moroi being Orthodox. And on a completely unrelated topic, what **_**is**_** the plural of Christmas? **_**Is**_** it Christmases? Christmasi?**


	6. Family Reunion

We landed in St. Petersburg at seven in the moring, on the twenty-sixth. Thankfully, because of the nocturnal schedule of Court, we were more or less used to the time zone. We still took a two hour nap once we reached the hotel. Then, the city was ours. I'd often fantasised about Dimitri and me in St. Petersburg, the things we'd do, and what we'd see. Since Ivan had attended Herzen University, and Dimitri by default, they'd lived here for four years, and Dimitri spent the day showing me all his old favourite haunts. Also, he tried to get me to eat quite a lot of things I'd normally never touch. After I'd tried them, I'd decided that I never wanted to again.

Dimitri also showed me around the university, and managed to get us into the dorm he and Ivan had lived in. We were currently sitting in one of the student lounges, as though we belonged there. No-one had thrown us out. Yet.

"Why here?" I asked him, as we drank the sodas we'd gotten from the vending machine in the lobby. "I mean, it's one hell of a lot bigger than the universities moroi normally go to." Bigger than Lehigh, even.

"Ivan liked the history department," Dimitri told me, "That, and he didn't want to feel like he was under his parents control for this aspect of his life. They wanted him to go to one of the tiny colleges in the US. Because that's where Tatiana was holding Court, they seemed to think it was safer." He smiled at some memory. "He needn't have made such a fuss over it. They would have supported him if he wanted to go to Clown College. That's what his mother said anyway, when he made his 'big announcement'." He looked around the lounge, nostalgic.

"You miss him," I said softly. It wasn't a question. Dimitri may not be showing hurt, or loss on his face, but I could still tell. He didn't say anything, just smiled slightly in response, grabbing my hand. We stayed sitting like that for a moment, before a security guard came and yelled at us to get out. At least, that's what I think he said. Knowing I'd be spending three weeks in Russia, I'd convinced my father to teach me a little russian. Also, Dimitri sprang up immediately, apologised, then told me to run.

That night we went out to this little restaurant that Dimitir loved, that had a dance floor upstairs. With him holding me in his arms, dancing to the music, I was in heaven. We couldn't stay out too long, unfortunately. We had to catch the train to Moscow at midnight.

We arrived in Moscow at eight, booked our lugage into storage in the train station, and then went for breakfast. The thirty-eight hour train for Omsk was leaving at four-fifteen, so we didn't have all the time in the world for sight-seeing. At least it was Dimitri with me this time, who was happy he was able to show me the city. He was a better tour guide than Sydney was, having spent about a year here. The city really was beautiful, and I wished we could have stayed longer, but on the plus side, I'd planned the trip home so that we had about two days here.

After we arrived in Omsk, we rented a car, and started the seven hour car journey to Baia. I'll admit, it's one hell of a journey. As we got nearer and nearer, I noticed that Dimitri was getting more and more nervous. Not in a 'I can't wait to see my family' kind of a way. There was something else, but I couldn't get it out of him until we had pulled up in front of the house. Finally, we were here. I turned to Dimitri grinning, to see him looking at the house apprehensively. I then realised what was bothering him.

"You want me to go in first and explain?" I asked him, reaching for his hand. He was worried about their reactions. He knew I'd told them the truth. He squeezed back, and took a deep breath.

"No," he said after a while, and turning to smile at me. It was a nervous, yet happy smile. "This will go fine. I can tell them myself." He leaned over and kissed me. "Thank you for asking though."

We got out of the car, and had just started to make our way towards the house, when someone came tearing out of it.

* * *

"They're here!" Viktoria called, looking out of her bedroom window onto the street below. She could see Dimitri sitting in the driver's seat of the car that had just pulled up outside. She could see a woman in the passenger seat, and assumed it must be Rose.

"What! They're here already?" Karolina exclaimed, running into her sister's room, Sonya and their mother hot on her heels. "Oh my God!" She grabbed the window sill for support, as she recognised her little brother, and his girlfriend. She'd known he was coming for the last three months, but seeing him in the flesh, even from far away, was something else entirely.

"Why are they just sitting there?" Sonya asked impatiently, leaning her chin on her older sister's shoulder. "Why don't they come in?"

"Maybe Dima's nervous," Viktoria said, "He probably thinks that we still believe that he's a strigoi." No-one replied, too busy staring at the car. Sonya got impatient. "I'm going to bring them inside." Karolina protested this, saying they might need time, to let them come in of their own accord, but she raced out of the room anway, Viktoria following her. Olena then went as well, tears of happiness brimming in her eyes, while Karolina turned back to the window.

The two of them had already gotten out of the car, Rose crossing around to the other side. Then the front door opened, and Viktoria ran out, having overtaken Sonya on the stairs, coming to an abrupt halt in front of Rose and Dimitri. Sonya had likewise stopped, but Karolina couldn't see her mother. Rose looked startled, but Dimitri smiled widely and took a step towards Viktoria, who launched herself into her brother's arms, Sonya following. At that point Karolina, ran out of the room, and sprinted down the stairs. She saw her mother standing frozen in the doorway, one hand over her heart, the other covering her mouth. She was crying. The sight of Karolina woke her up, and she followed her out. Olena was unable to say anything for the tears streaming down her face. Dimitri broke away from his younger sisters, moving to hug Karolina. He then put one arm out to hug his mother, who was walking slowly towards to two of them, her hands in front of her mouth. None of them noticed Rose standing to one side, or Yeva walking calmly out of the house over to her.

Clasping Rose's hand with one of her own, and putting the other on her cheek, she said quietly "I knew you were a warrior. Thank you."

Rose laughed softly, and put her free hand on the one Yeva had on her cheek. "Well, you can't judge me by Easter. I was having an off week."

Yeva just nodded, and smiled, before going over to her daughter and grandchildren, and reminding them of Rose's precsence, in Russian of course. That prompted Dimitri to break away slightly and drag Rose forward by the hand. Olena then hugged her too, whispering "Thank you".

"Thank you," she said again, when she pulled back, holding Rose by the shoulders. "Alright everyone," she said wiping her eyes, "Shall we go inside?" She and Viktoria led the way, dragging Dimitri, Sonya hurrying after, and up the stairs as she heard her son cry. Karolina laughed through her tears, hugging Rose, saying it was good to see her again. Rose laughed, and smiled as well, thanking her and they both went inside, arm in arm. Yeva went last. It was just like her dream. Though this one she was pleased to have come through.


	7. A Slip Of The Tongue

**A/N:- To kittenxxkisses: Yes, there was supposed to be a page break in the middle, when I uploaded the chapter something happened to it. Not the best with computers. At all. In fact, I can barely text. And thank you for the correct plural of Christmas. I still prefer Christmasi, though :P **

When you haven't seen your family in a very long time, when you've been through a terrible ordeal, such as what Dimitri went through, you don't notice much of the small things going on around you. You're too dazed from the joy of being around so many people who love you. You _will_ notice any drastically different hairstyles, if the children have gotten taller, and things like that. You won't, however, notice little things like, say, a slip of the tongue. That's what your girlfriend is for.

"How did you know to prepare a room for us?" Rose asked confused, looking between the Belikov women. They were all in the sitting room, Olena sitting next to Dimitri, Viktoria on his other side, seated on the arm of the sofa, her head resting on her brother's shoulder. Karolina was sitting on the arm of Yeva's chair, and Sonya was in the other armchair. Rose had gotten a chair from the kitchen, where Paul was entertaining his baby sister. At the request of Viktoria, Dimitri had just gone through the details of his restoration, after which Olena told them that they had already moved Sonya and her son's, Rurik, things into Karolina's room, so they could stay in her's. Rose didn't miss the fact that they'd _known_, they were coming.

"You didn't tell them?" Dimitri turned to Rose, who shook her head, then back to his mother. "How did you know then?"

His mother and sisters exchanged glances. They hadn't planned on bringing this up until after dinner, and Rose and Dimitri had settled in. Olena hadn't realised that being guardians, they'd pick up on every little thing. Karolina decided to bite the bullet.

"Rose, do you know Benedikt Taurus?" She thought that underlining the friendship between her father and Rose was the best way to do this, instead of just telling her brother that dad was stopping by for dinner tomorrow.

As Karolina had predicted, Dimitri stiffened at the name and jumped in before Rose could say anything. "Of course she doesn't."

"Dima – " Olena began, but Dimitri cut her off too.

"Mama, how would she know him?"

"Actually, I do know him," Rose said, looking from face, to face. "You've heard me talk about him, my friend Ben, remember?" At the look on Dimitri's face she asked, "What's wrong? And how do you guys know – " Her eyes widened as she remembered a conversation she'd once had with Benedikt, ten years ago, about why he never drank alcohol. About how his son had once protected his mother and sisters from him. He'd even told her his son had been thirteen at the time. Even though Dimitri had once told her a similar story, she'd never connected the two. Until now.

"He's your father," she breathed, looking straight at Dimitri, who looked stoically back. Rose thought that she could detect a hint of betrayal in his eyes.

"How exactly do you know him?" Dimitri questioned stiffly. Rose thought she could sense a storm brewing. Dimitri had only ever mentioned his father once, but Rose knew he didn't have much in the way of filial regard.

"He, kind of, saved me," Rose said slowly, "When I was six. It's a long story," Rose waved a hand impatiently. "One I'd rather not go through in detail just now." She turned to Olena, "He's contacted you, hasn't he? When?"

"Papa came by, a week after you left," Viktoria informed her. "But I didn't get to see him until the following week." She smiled happily. "He visited me at school."

"And you let him?" Dimitri looked at his mother, outrage and disbelief filling his features. "After everything he's done, what he did to _you_, you let him near Viktoria?" Storm's here.

"I want to know him!" Viktoria said, highly annoyed by her brother's reaction. Her mother, gandomther and sisters had warned her to expect this, but she could see no reason for it. Everyone ignored her.

Realising that Olena was a bit intimidated by her son's anger, Rose jumped in. "Look, Comrade, lets all calm down – "

"And what do you mean, you're friends with him?" Dimitri turned to Rose.

"What's wrong with her knowing papa?" Viktoria asked. She was ignored again.

"I mean, what I said," Rose responded, slightly coldly, not appreciating Dimitri attacking her. "I met him when I was six, when the academy used to make me sing in the gala they put on for the queen. We met during the after party." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I'll tell you the full story later."

Dimitri jumped up, and started pacing the room, trying to process this information. Rose knew Benedikt, knew his alcohlic, abusive father, who'd made his childhood a living hell. Worse, his mother was in contact with him, and Viktoria called him 'papa'. This was too much.

"What do you think of this?" Dimitri appealed to his grandmother, who didn't answer right away, just looked her grandson squarely in the eye.

"I'm not, _delighted_," she said slowly. She'd spoken in russian, but Rose had caught what she'd said. "But," she added, "He seems to have repented. Though I still don't think he deserves you," she said this to her daughter.

"That's a small understatement," Dimitri scoffed, turning away from Yeva, and beginning to pace the room again. He then stopped abruptly and demanded of his mother, "What exactly is going on here? How often do you see him?"

"What's wrong with seeing our father?" Viktoria asked furiously, before Olena could answer. "He's back now, and he's good to us – "

"Good to you? _Good to you_? Have you any idea what he's done?"

"I don't remember him doing anything – "

"Of course not, you were four years – "

"Guys – " Rose tried to interject, Olena, Karolina and Sonya looking between the two of them. Yeva picked up her knitting, realising the futility of trying to calm either one.

"I'm not anymore!"

"You guys – "

"Doesn't mean you know anything about life, or – "

"Or what? _What_ Dima?"

"You have no idea what he's done!" Dimitri roared suddenly. "You clearly don't remember all the trips to the emergency room, when mama couldn't look after you for three months because her arm was in a sling, all the times we walked into the kitchen to find her passed out on the floor, thinking she looked strange when she _wasn't_ covered in bruises!" Dimitri was beside himself. He had vague memories of before his father had begun to drink, and the loss of that good man was making this harder on him. It had left a festering wound, that had just been ripped open.

"You have no memory of the screaming, and the sobbing, and wishing you could do anything to stop it!" Olena was looking at her son in shock. She hadn't realised it had had that kind of effect on him. Karolina and Sonya could perfectly recall, and understand, all that he was saying. As could Yeva. Viktoria wasn't convinced. Dimitri couldn't take much more of this.

Grabbing his duster off the coat hanger, he stormed out of the sitting room, Rose hurrying after him. He'd slammed the front door, before she could reach him. Sighing, she returned to the sitting room.

"With all things considered," she said, "That could really only have gone _marginally_ better." She rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly exhausted, sinking back down onto her chair. There was a wailing sound just then, and Sonya headed upstairs. Apparently they had woken the baby. She returned a moment later with a bundle in her arms.

Olena looked devastated at Dimitri's reaction, but unsurprised. Neither was Karolina or Sonya. They'd reacted, if anything, _worse_ when they saw Benedikt in the sitting room eight months ago. Viktoria was still angry.

"What's his problem? Papa's a good man. Have _you_ changed how you feel about him?" She directed this at Rose, but it was Karolina who answered.

"Did you not hear a word he said?" Karolina was as angry as her sister, but for different reasons. "If you'd seen what we did, you wouldn't have welcomed him back so quickly."

Sonya agreed with her. "I wasn't happy to see him either, in fact I wanted to throw him out, but I've had time to see the difference. Dima deserves the same, so don't you dare berate him about this!"

"Especially not after what he's been through," Rose joined the conversation. "He just needs some time, _a lot_ of time, you can't just expect him to _immediately_ welcome Ben back with open arms. And no," she added as Viktoria opened her mouth. "This hasn't changed how I feel about him. I'd known this for a while, and I've known him longer than you have, he's been _good to me_ longer, and I still understand why Dimitri is having trouble with this. You should try too. It's not that hard if you think about it."

Viktoria didn't appreciate being ganged up on, and turned to her mother for support. She knew she wasn't going to get it from her grandmother.

"I wish Dima was happy to see him too," Olena said sadly, "But your sisters and Rose are right. We can't expect that. It's not fair. You heard what your brother said, try to understand."

Viktoria got up just then and stormed out of the room, and upstairs. Try to understand? Dima was making him out to be some kind of monster, which she knew wasn't true. He was her father, the man she'd always wanted to meet, and now they were tyring to turn her against him. It wasn't right.

Olena, Karolina and Sonya helped bring in all the luggage from the car, and take it upstairs. Then Rose got all the details of what had been going on during the last eight months, how Benedikt had shown up, his devastation over Dimitri's death, how he his visits had gotten more and more frequent, how he'd changed, and won over Sonya and Yeva. How Karolina was nearly there too. How he'd also informed the Belikovs of Dimitri's restoration, as soon as Rose had told him, and about their Christmas plans. He was going to arrive in Baia the next day, and be at the house for New Year's Eve dinner. Well, at least Rose now knew what he'd meant when he'd see her soon. It was upsetting however, to realise that he and Dimitri were not going to get along, as well as she'd originally hoped.


	8. Just One Chance

I heard the front door open and close quietly. It was gone one o'clock in the morning, and as far as I was aware, I was the only one still awake. Dimitri had stayed out all day, where, I don't know. I didn't go out looking for him, because I thought he needed some time alone. Also, I had no idea of _where_ to look for him. At least he was back now. I was getting worried. I heard his soft footsteps on the stairs, trying not to wake anyone. A moment later the door opened.

"You're still awake," he whispered as he came in and shut the door, not looking at me. I was sitting cross-legged on the bed, in my pajamas, reading a magazine. "I thought you'd be asleep by now."

"Is that why you stayed out so late?" I asked just as quietly. "So you wouldn't have to talk to me? You could have called you know. We were all worried."

"I needed time to think." Dimitri started to get dressed for bed, not saying anything else. I'd come up with a plan of action earlier, and I decided to just get this over with.

"I was abused when I was little."

He froze, then turned around sharply, his jeans half off, shock written all over his face. He hadn't expected _that_. He put on a pair of pajama bottoms, before coming to sit beside me on the bed.

"You never told me that before." Dimitri said after a moment. "Why now?"

I took a deep breath. I felt very vulnerable revealing this. "Because Ben is the one who saved me from her. No just listen," I said as Dimitri grimaced, and pulled away slightly. "The academy used to force me to sing in that gala that was put on for the queen. One year, it got really late, and I just wanted to get out of there, and go to bed. She wouldn't let me."

"She?"

I scowled. "Ms. Donovan. She was one of the matrons in the elemntary dorm where I lived. Her favourite past-time was smacking me from room to room."

"Oh, Roza," Dimtri said, wrapping an arm around me, pulling towards him. I leaned into him briefly, before pulling back and continuing. I needed to do this.

"Anyway, I managed to get out of the party, and tried to make my own way back to my room. I didn't get very far." I told him what had happened next, how she'd tried to drag me back, that I wouldn't go, and how she'd lost her temper.

"Ben was on his way back to the party from the bathroom. He pried her off me, and then, well," I paused for a moment.

"And?"Dimitri prompted.

"And he went nuts. He didn't hurt her or anything," I added quickly, because Dimitri looked like that was what he was thinking. "He just screamed at her. At the time, I thought he just didn't like what she was doing, but now, well, I think it might have been because of you."

"Me? How?"

"I was six at the time. You would have been thirteen."

He got what I was alluding to. "You think that he reacted like that, because of what _I _did?"

I nodded. I told him what he'd said to her, how afterwards he'd gone out of his way to look after me, and about what he'd said to me when he told me about his family.

"I think that looking after me was a way to atone for what he did to you guys." I paused for a moment. "He said he was proud of you."

Dimitri didn't look at me. He'd been sitting with his chin balanced on his hands, his elbows on his knees, staring at the opposite wall. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. After a while, he spoke.

Staightening up, turning to me, he said, "I _still_ don't trust him. I _can't_ after what he's done. I can't _bear_ the thought of him being around the girls, and Viktoria..." He trailed off, closing his eyes, and exhaling, shaking his head.

"Yeah," I sighed, "I agree with you on that one. I can understand where she's coming from, it's her dad, but she's not even trying to see anyone elses point of view."

"Anyone elses?"

I smiled. "What, you think Karolina and Sonya were over the moon when he showed up? Karolina claims she nearly attacked him. Sonya says she _would_ have, if she hadn't been pregnant at the time. Plus, the only reason Olena let him in the house was because he seemed so upset that you were, you know, dead. Yeva just doesn't like him."

Dimitri chuckled. "She never did. Even before."

"He's coming to dinner tomorrow."

"No," Dimitri said immediately. "I don't care if he's fooled all of you, I don't want him near any of you."

"Just give him a chance," I pleaded. "He's not the same guy he was when you were thirteen – "

"He wasn't when I was five either, but look at what he turned into!" Dimtri stood up, and whirled around to face me. "Who's to say he won't turn back into that again?" He was getting upset again. "How can you ask me to risk it?"

"He's been sober for twelve years!" I stood up likewise, and crossed my arms. I was getting angry. "He visited me every few months! He called me every week! He never forgot my birthday, or at Christmas, and he was all I had when I was little! I hate to break it to you, but I think he's a good man!" Both of our voices had risen slightly, but a whimper from either Zoya or Rurik, reminded us that we were in a house full of sleeping people.

Dimitri and I glanced at the door before looking back at each other. We both visibly got ourselves under control.

"That may be," Dimitri whispered, crossing his arms over his chest, "But I'm still not happy about this, I still can't trust him."

"Look, you don't have to run into his arms the second you see him, hell you don't even have to be polite, just don't lose it, or punch him, or bodily throw him out of the house when he gets here." He looked mutinous. "Please. Decide for yourself, don't just take our word for it. Although, Karolina and Sonya seem to trust him now, somewhat, despite being about as happy as you were at the beginning."

Dimitri turned away, and started pacing between the bed and the dresser. "Alright," he said finally, "I won't 'lose it' when he gets here." He grimaced. "I'll give him a chance. But," he added, "If he does anything, and I mean _anything,_ I am not responsible for my actions."

I agreed, and we got into bed. I wished he would be more open to the idea of Benedikt re-entering his life, but knew that wasn't really reasonable, nor smart, under the circumstances. There was another reason I was a bit annoyed at Viktoria, other than her unwillingness to try to see the other side of this argument, not to mention the fact that she'd refused to come out of her room all day. It was the fact that she had accepted her father so quickly. Given the past, it was an icredibly stupid thing to do. She'd jumped in far too quickly, without waiting to see if he was trust-worthy. She just took his word for it. If I didn't know Ben, I might have thought that he was just trying to draw Olena back in, to get control over her again. I hoped Dimitri wouldn't take the opposite stand, and refuse to trust him at all. I also hoped, that Ben would be able to earn that trust.


	9. Daddy Dearest

We were all pretty tense the next day. Olena had asked Dimitri over breakfast where he'd been all day yesterday, but he'd simply responded that he'd needed to think, that he was sorry, and he'd call in the future. She told him not to worry her like that again. Viktoria, on the other hand, wasn't speaking to him, or me, and for the first time ever, I _wasn't_ looking forward to Benedikt's arrival. I had a feeling that the slightest little thing could set Dimitri off. Oh, he wasn't going to go off on one of _us_, but Benedikt was free game.

I was sitting on the sofa in the sitting room, with Viktoria, Sonya and Paul, watching a Christmas special, that I only got the gist of with my meagre russian, when I heard a car pull up outside. I stiffened. Viktoria ran to the window.

"Papa's here," she called out, going to the front door and opening it. I exchanged a glance with Sonya, and we both stood, moving to the door of the sitting room. There he was, at the front door, hugging Viktoria. He looked past her, to me and Sonya, and smiled. I smiled back. Okay, maybe I _was_ happy he was here.

"It's good to see you, Sonyenka, Rozochka," he said hugging Sonya, then me. I, as usual, squeezed the life out of him. Once I let go however, I puched him on the arm.

"You could have told me that you were my boyfriend's father! That may have helped things, Dimitri's not exactly happy!" I whispered furiously. Ben shrugged, and opened his mouth to respond, but froze as he looked towards the kitchen. The rest of us looked as well. Olena and Karolina had come out of the kitchen, Dimitri coming behind them, looking at Ben coldly.

Olena was smiling as she came forward. "Benedikt, you'r early."

Benedikt smiled as well, embracing her, but cast a nervous glance at Dimitri before replying. "I couldn't wait. We left an hour early." Leaning against the car, I could see Bill and Felipe, his guardians, watching the house. I waved. Bill grinned and waved back, and Felipe smiled, and nodded. I'd always liked the two of them. I moved over to Dimitri, and slipped my arm around his waist. He put his arm around my shoulders, but didn't stop glaring at Ben. He hadn't attacked him yet, and I was going to take what I could get.

After greeting Karolina, Benedikt took a step forwards, looking at his son in amazment, obviously thrilled to see him, saying "I still cannot believe it. Dima, this is incredible, it's just..." He trailed off, smiling. "It is so, so good to see again, alive and well." He held out a hand, that Dimitri shook very briefly.

"You could be nicer," Viktoria said angrily, crossing her arms across her chest. "Don't be so rude to papa."

"Viktoria," Benedikt scolded. She looked round at him. He shook his head, and she mercifully stayed silent. Just as well. Dimitri looked like he had a few things to say.

You could have cut the tension in the hall with a knife. It was surprisingly Dimitri who made the effort to alleviate it, by suggested we all go into the sitting room. We did, except for Olena and Karolina, who went back into the kitchen to continue with dinner, and party preparations. There was going to be a Homecoming party that evening at eight.

Viktoria sat next to Benedikt on the sofa, Sonya beside her, holding three month old Rurik. Zoya was asleep upstairs. Paul climbed on Benedikt's lap, as soon as he sat down, and chirped "Hi Grandpa."

Benedikt started exclaiming that surely Paul must have gotten bigger since he last saw him. I fought a smile. He'd said that to me all the time when I was that age.

"It's only been a week," Paul responded, rolling his eyes.

"Well, then you grow as fast as your uncle. I swear everytime I came, he'd shot up two inches!" Benedikt smiled at Dimitri, who'd changed tactics, and was now pointedly avoiding looking at Ben. He then stood up, and announced that he was going to help his mother and Karolina with dinner. Before he left, he shot a pointed look at me. His message was clear: _Your in charge. Watch Benedikt closely._ Viktoria glared at him as he left. Dimitri heard their father admonishing her again, and I saw his shoulders tense. I repressed a sigh. At least he trusted me. Oh, this was going to be fun.

When dinner came around, Dimitri sat as far as he could from Benedikt, dragging me with him. He'd stayed in the kitchen since his father had arrived, and was still not looking at him now. I tried my best to put everyone at ease, helped along considerably by Ben, and Felipe. Him and Bill had joined us for dinner. Yeva, who'd come downstairs soon after Ben had arrived, was as silent as Dimitri. After a while, the conversation turned to politcs.

"Lissa's hopeful that she can get the council behind her on this," I was telling them about Lissa's recent proposal to the council: starting a combat training program for moroi in schools.

"Is it going to be optional, or is she planning on making it compulsory?" Karolina asked.

"Optional," Ben replied, "It's much smarter of course. Ease everyone into it. Watching our young queen speak is truly something else."

"Well come on Comrade," I said to Dimitri, nudging him, "It's your training program that will be implemented, you know more about this than me."

"Really Dima?" Olena asked, delighted.

Dimitri made a fuss of putting down his knife and fork, and wiping his mouth with his napkin, before making any response.

"Not much to tell really," he said. "It's similar to the training program for children, but slightly accelerated."

"You should hear Christian after training, he whines more than I did at first." I turned to Dimitri, teasingly. "You're a real slave driver, you know that?" He only smiled slightly in reply.

"Will you ever say something?" Viktoria burst out suddenly. "We're talking to you!"

I repressed the urge smack my head on the table. The rest of us, Ben included, were settling for a lack of open hostility. Throughout dinner however, Viktoria had been repeatedly trying to make Dimitri get along with their father, prompting him to rebuke her for it, as he didn't want to start another argument between the brother and sister. Unfortunately, chastising her kept causing Dimitri to stiffen up, and clench his fists. It was the same in this case.

"Viktoria, that's enough," Benedikt said sternly.

"But he's – "

"Enough," Olena and Benedikt said simultaneously.

Viktoria sat back in her seat and hmphed. Once again, Dimitri did not appreciate his father chastising his sister. Because to him it was a threat of violence, or because he didn't think that Ben had any right to parent, I was unsure.

I felt really bad for Viktoria. All she wanted was for her father and brother to get along, but she wasn't really helping matters. She was a good person, but she was just too immature to understand, and do anything to actually help the situation. She was trying to rush Dimitri into accepting something that needed so much more time than she realised.

Thankfully we had dessert quickly, and then it was time to wash up. Dimitri volunteered to do the dishes, while everyone else cleared up for the party. Benedikt said he'd help him. Dimitri looked like he was going to protest this, but at a pleading look from me, he nodded, and led the way into the kitchen. Hopefully now they could talk. I knew that Benedikt had been dying to talk to him. I had a feeling however, that this was not going to go well.

* * *

"So, how do you like guarding Lord Ozera?"

Dimitri was washing the dishes, while Benedikt dried. Benedikt was currently attempting to make small talk. He'd start with what he wanted to really say in a minute.

"It's fine."

"And, you are enjoying living at Court? I, uh, well I hope you are not still having trouble with people believing that, well, you are still strigoi." Benedikt had said this last part concernedly. He didn't want his son to have to deal with the prejudice that he knew other royals could viciously dish out. From what he'd heard, Dimitri had had to deal with a lot of it. To quote Rose, before Tatiana had been killed, he'd been 'paraded around like a circus side-show'. Benedikt hoped things were better now.

Dimitri was normally made uncomfortable by any reference to the four months he'd been a strigoi, but Benedikt bringing it up was unacceptable. "And why would you care about that?" Dimtiri threw the scrubber back into the sink with a spalsh, and turned to Benedikt. "You have never given a damn before, so why should you care now?"

"Dima," Benedikt said earnestly, "I have always cared about – "

"Really? Have you? Well, I have to admit, that's news to me!" Frustration, anger and resentment had been building all day. "And what exactly do you think you're doing, acting as though you have any right to be here, to act like our father?"

"I am only trying to prove to you – "

"You have already proven yourself to be a monster, time and time again!" Dimtiri was yelling now. "I don't need anymore proof!" He took a couple of steps backwards, keeping his back to the door, still facing Benedikt. Who was also getting slightly annoyed. He knew he should expect this, but that doesn't mean he liked his son basically saying he hated him.

"I'm just asking for another chance!"

"You don't deserve one!"

Unseen by either of them, Zoya had tottered into the room, attracted by the loud noises. Dimitri was still moving around slightly, and there was a very good chance he'd either step on the fourteen month old, or kick her. Rose saw this though, as she had peeked her head out of the sitting room. She rushed forwards to try and grab her before she reached the war zone.

"You can't know that, you haven't even given me one! It's all I'm asking for!"

Dimitri threw his arms out, very energetically, something he'd picked up from Rose, yelling "Yes, I do know that, because – " But he didn't get further than that. Rose had been right behind him, focused on Zoya, when he'd thrown out his arms. She got smacked in the mouth, hard, and sent headlong into the kitchen table, whacking her head off the edge, very hard.

"Rose!" Dimitri was horrified. Zoya, who'd miracoulously escaped any harm, by Dimitri noticing her and scooping her up, was crying now. Karolina hurried into the kitchen, and took her from Dimitri. Her mother, sisters, Bill and Felipe following.

"What happened?" Olena asked, bending down to examine Rose, the others retreating. She'd been knocked out, and her forehead and mouth were bleeding. She'd bitten through her lip. Olena peered under her eyelids. She groaned slightly. "She needs a doctor." Bill left to make the call. "What happened?" She asked again.

"I, I hit her, and she flew into the table," Dimitri explained, still looking at Rose in horror. He looked up to see everyone looking at him. "It was an accident, I swear, I didn't see her behind me."

"It's true, he was looking at me," Benedikt told them. "She'll be fine, don't worry," he added to Dimitri, "Won't she, Olena?"

"I think so, but I can't know for sure unless she gets checked out at the hospital." She looked around the crowded kitchen. "Everyone but Dimitri, out. Go!"

Everyone else filed out, and Dimitri crouched down on Rose's other side, holding her hand. Olena waited until Benedikt had crossed over the threshold, and closed the door, before she spoke.

"What did you do? Dimitri look at me!" He looked at her, clearly miserable.

"She'll be okay, won't she?" Olena was still looking at him, waiting for an answer. "I didn't see her behind me, and I, well," He demonstrated. "I really didn't see her, I would never do this to her on purpose,_ never_!"

At that moment, Rose's eyelids fluttered open briefly, and she moved her head slightly, but then her eyes shut, and she fell still.

"Roza," Dimitri said, holding her hand tighter. He wouldn't dare shake her. "Roza, can you hear me?"

"She definitely has a concussion," Olena told him, checking Rose's pulse. "Has she ever had any serious head trauma before?"

Dimitri started reciting everything he knew about Rose medical records. They'd both gone through each others a thousand times before, in case they were ever in this kind of situation. Olena told him that because she'd been concussed before, she was probably a bit more prone to them now, and it might be a bit more serious. On the outside, Dimitri looked the perfect picture of composure, but in reality he was only just holding himself together. If anything happened to Rose, he would never forgive himself. He was so anxious in fact, that when the paramedics arrived, he barely noticed that Benedikt joined him and his mother in the back of the ambulance. Even if he did, all he would have seen on his father's face, was a large share in the concern that Dimitri himself felt. Rose was, after all, very dear him.


	10. Honest Conversations

It's a terrible feeling, when someone you love is in hospital, and you don't know if they'll be okay. You're worried, you're anxious, it's hard to sit still, and you can't stop wondering if they'll live, and even if they do live, will there be any permanent damage? Of course, this feeling is made much worse, if you're the one who put said loved one, in the hospital, in the first place.

"She'll be fine Dima," Benedikt said gently, looking sideways at Dimitri, who was sitting with his arms resting on his knees, staring at the stack of magazines on the table in front of them. The two of them were currently sitting in the waiting room for the neurology department of Baia's small hospital, waiting for any news on Rose. It was square room, with seats screwed into the walls, and a rectangular table in the middle of them. They were the only two there. Olena had gone to see if she could find out anything from a doctor friend of hers. In fact, she knew about half of the medical staff, and every dhampir, who worked in the hospital.

Dimitri didn't say anything. He didn't want any comfort from Benedikt. He didn't want any comfort at all. He would have prefered to have been chastised, to be told that it was his fault. Rose hadn't responded to the paramedics on the way to the hospital, she'd only mumbled unintelligibly, and tried to open her eyes. Once at the hospital, she'd been rushed to have a CAT scan, and Dimitri had given the doctors all the information he'd given his mother in the kitchen. That had been five hours ago. Now, all he could do was wait, and pray to a God he wasn't sure he believed in, that she would be okay.

"I'm worried as well," Benedikt had been trying, on and off, for the last five hours to draw Dimitri out, to console him, but he hadn't said a word in return. "I care a lot about her. She's a very special girl. She's _always_ been a very special girl – "

"I don't want to be like you," Dimitri said suddenly.

"What?" Benedikt was startled by Dimitri actually saying something, rather than what he'd said.

"I said, that I don't want to be like you," Dimitri repeated, straightening up, and turnig in his seat to look at his father. "It was an accident, I know that, but, still, I can't help but draw some parallels here, and..." He trailed off, shaking his head and turing away. He wasn't even sure why he was revealing this, but he knew that he needed to say it out-loud. Though, he probably wouldn't be saying anything at all, if he didn't feel so vulnerable. "And what if I am? I've lost control before, mostly around Rose - "

"Dimitri stop," Benedikt said quickly. He didn't want his son have those thoughts. "Listen to me very carefully: You are _not_ a bad man. I _know_ you are not a bad man, and all those times you claimed that you've lost control around Rose, have you ever hurt her? Do you _want_ to hurt her? Want to have control like that over her?"

"Well, no of course not," Dimitri said, sounding confused, and surprised. "What do you mean have control over her?"

Benedikt sighed. "I'm going to need you to listen to me, and not interrupt. I have to say this, if I'm going to make you understand," he added in response to Dimitri's questioning look. Dimitri thought about it for a moment, before agreeing.

"What I put your mother through, what cases like that are always about," he sighed again. "It's always about control," Benedikt said simply. "It's not because of a love of violence, or because of anger. It's because of a need to feel in control."

"To feel powerful," Dimitri clarified. He was slightly disgusted, but remembered his promise not to interrupt, and said no more. If he was going to finally know what happened to make the man he used to _want_ to come and visit him, the man he used to race Karolina and Sonya out the door to, yelling 'Daddy!', to be replaced by that monster, he was going to listen.

Benedikt nodded. "I'm sorry if I'm generalising, but I think it's necessary in order to tell you the full story." He breathed deeply before continuing. "I first started to drink after my parents had been killed. There was a small group of strigoi, who raided their home in Moscow. I felt horrified. I was shocked and grieved that I had lost both of my parents at the same time, but I also felt that no where was safe. You probably don't remember them. You were only five at the time."

"Grandpa used to give me a toy car whenever we saw them," Dimitri said sadly. "I remember vaguely."

"Yes, he did," Benedikt said, with a small, sad smile. "You loved them. Anyway, I also felt like I couldn't control anything, that my life was spinning completely out of my control, and I am ashamed to say, that I took it out on your mother. I will always be amazed that she has forgiven me. I didn't think she could. Or that I deserved it."

Dimitri didn't say anything to that, even though he could empathise perfectly with what Benedikt was saying.

"But I've gotten my life back on track now," Benedikt continued, "I recognise my own fault in what happened. I am sorry, for everything that I put you all through."

Dimitri nodded, sitting back in his chair, thinking. He never thought that he'd hear all of this from his father. Never thought about him being just a man underneath it all. He also realised why his mother had given him a second chance. It seemed as though he really did love her. Ten years. They'd been together for _ten years_, before he'd started to drink. He was by no means ready to trust him yet, but it was a start.

"Let me tell you something else," Benedikt said, "No parent wants their children to turn out like them. They want them to turn out _better_. And you, my boy, have surpassed my wildest dreams." Dimitri looked around at him. "I am so, so proud of you."

Dimitri was speechless. He couldn't believe his ears. Proud of him? Rose had told him that, but it was different hearing it from the man himself. Just then, Olena walked back into the waiting room, with a doctor. Which was lucky, as Dimitri could only process so much at the same time. Rose's well being first, family drama later.

Both men stood at their entrance, striding forwards. They both towered over the two women.

"Is she okay?" Dimitri asked, before either of them could speak. "Is she going to be alright?"

"She has a mild concussion," the doctor explained. She was a dhampir woman the same age as Olena and Benedikt. She'd actually gone to school with them. "And there won't be any lasting brain damage, but I'm keeping her here for observation until lunch time tomorrow, just to be on the safe side. You can stay with her tonight if you like. You know the drill with concussions, you can't go to sleep for a while." She'd directed that last part at Dimitri. He said he would stay with her, and she told him what room she was in.

"Oh, and Dimitri," she said, cathcing his arm. "It's very good to see you again." She smiled at him. She'd known him since he was a baby after all.

"You as well." Dimitri hurried off leaving his parents with the doctor.

"Thank you, Nadya," Olena said earnestly, once Dimitri had left. She was also refering to the fact that Nadya had lied to the police, saying Rose had slipped on the wet floor, not implicating Dimitri.

"He was very worried," Benedikt told them. "I think he was afraid he'd given her permanent brain damage."

"Well it was my pleasure to help out some old friends," Nadya replied. "Although," she added with a wry smile, "Tell that son of yours, that he really shouldn't be flailing his arms about."

They chuckled and thanked her, asking her to tell Dimitri that they were leaving. Nadya agreed, and accepted their invitation to the New Year's party tomorrow evening.

"I'm so glad that she's okay," Benedikt was saying as they left the hospital. "I was afraid for a while there."

"I know what you mean," Olena told him, "I was scared too. I didn't want to say anything in front of Dimitri of course. What where you two talking about when Nadya and I came back?"

Benedikt smiled. "Let's just say, I think we're making progress."

Naturally this delighted Olena. Of course, they were making progress. Dimitri may not yet trust his father, but he was going to give him the chance to earn it. That's all that Benedikt wanted, really. The chance to be a family again. To be a father to his children. Only this time, he vowed that he was not going to make a mess of things.


	11. New Year's

**AN:- To kittenxxkissed: Octopodes? Really? But can you do 'hippopotamus'?**

"No."

Oh, yeah."

"No way!"

"Lissa, if you say that once more, I swear to God – "

"I know, I know, I just can't believe it!"

"You and me both," I told her. "And I was here!" I was sitting on the bed Dimitri and I were sharing, video-chatting with Lissa. I'd just gone through the details of the last two days, including the fact that Ben used to be an alcoholic, and the argument that he and Dimitri had had yesterday, resulting in my trip to the hospital. I had a fat lip, complete with two stitches, and I also had a wicked bruise on my forehead. It was after lunch, and I'd only gotten back three hours ago. I hadn't planned on calling Lissa until tomorrow, but I needed to talk to my best friend.

"How's Dimitri dealing with all of this?" she asked, gesturing to my injuries. They weren't bad ones, they were just colourful.

"He's forgiven himself," I sighed. "Sort of. It's not like he did it on purpose."

"How are _you_ dealing with all of this?" she asked knowingly, after a slight pause.

I sighed again before answering. "Well, my dreams of Dimitri getting along fantastically from the get-go with my favourite uncle, have gone up in flames, and the tension in this house yesterday was suffocating, but, well," I shrugged. "Dimitri told me that they had a little chat in the waiting room, so maybe they'll start to get along, you never know. I'm still going to hope. He seemed okay with the fact that Ben was the one who picked us up."

"Why didn't you ever tell me about Ben?" she queried after a moment. It was a HD web-feed, so I could see the confusion clearly on her face. Lissa's parents had started attending the gala after party when we were nine, when they decided that Lissa and Andre were old enough to go. I'd introduced them to Benedikt, and they'd hit it off. I saw him frequently when I stayed with them during the summer. He was the one who'd kept Lissa's parents' things safe for her, inlcuding the _chotki_ I always wore around my wrist. Along with my _nazaar_, I never took it off. Abe loved seeing me wear it.

"Because I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone," I said simply. "You know I keep my promises, no matter what."

"That you do," she said with a smile. "Have you told your parents yet?"

"Yeah, I rang them as soon as I got in. They couldn't believe it about Ben either." I rolled my eyes. "And when I told them about _this_," I pointed towards my face, "They laughed, and the old man said Dimitri should have taught me how to duck." I shook my head. "My parents are so sympathetic, aren't they?"

Lissa laughed, and we talked for another little while, before I heard Olena calling me downstairs for dinner. We were having another early one, like yesterday, because tonight there was going to be a Homecoming/New Year's party. Yesterday's party had been postponed, for obvious reasons.

After dinner, Dimitri and Ben once again volunteered to do the dishes. Olena told them, sternly, to behave. Meanwhile, I asked Viktoria if she'd help me come up with some way to hide the bruises. So we went upstairs to raid my make-up bag. It was, of course, a lost cause, but I had another reason I wanted to speak to her alone.

"So, um," I began, as she rifled through my make-up. "Have you, um, well – "

"Talked to Sonya about Rolan?" she finished wryly, avoiding my eyes.

"Well, yeah."

She didn't speak for a couple of minutes, then said, "I have." Viktoria looked up, her expression upset. "You were right. He's Rurik's father."

"No, he's an undeserving sleaze-ball, who shouldn't be a parent," I told her, placing my hand on her arm. "You okay?"

"It was nearly a year ago," Viktoria shrugged. "I'm over it, I guess. And don't say 'because of Nikolai'," she added warningly.

"Because of someone else?" I asked slyly. I _had_ been going to ask about Nikolai. I was told that he was going to be at the party tonight, along with his mother. I'd nearly had a heart attack when Karolina mentioned that Dennis was going to be there too. Not a meeting I was looking forward to.

Viktoria rolled her eyes. "No, there isn't anyone at the moment. You're worse than my mother."

We laughed, and talked until Viktoria decided it was time for her to go and get ready for the party. It was just like it was at Easter. Dimitri came in a few minutes later, having decided to get ready too.

"That's nice," he said, gesturing to what I was wearing. It was one of the dresses my parents had gotten me. I stood up to give him a better view, holding out the skirt with one hand. "I take it back. It's beautiful."

It was a dark red v-neck, with cap sleeves, that stopped just above my knees, and accentuated my curves. The hem was embroidered with tiny white silk roses, and apple green vines. I could tell my parents had picked it out together. The colour screamed 'Abe', and only my mother would pick out a dress this comfortable. I was really beginning to worry about my only-child status.

Dimitri moved over to me, putting one hand on my waist, the other tilting my chin up. I wrapped my arms around his neck. "How's your forehead?" He really hated what had happened, and had been coddling me all day.

I pulled him down for a kiss. "I. Am. Fine," I told him, once we'd broken apart. The pain killers were actually starting to wear off, and my head and lip were beginning to feel a little sore, but I wasn't about to tell him that. "It was an accident. I know it was an accident, you've apologised profusely, and need to stop worrying about it." I kissed him again. "Or I'll give you matching bruises," I growled playfully.

"Fine," he laughed. "I won't bring it up again. But I'm sorry," he added, quickly. Dimitri then moved over to his suitcase, and started looking through it, trying to find a shirt. I just rolled my eyes.

By eight thirty that night the house was full of people. There were plenty of guardians there as well, as they had taken time off to visit their female relatives. Dimitri and I were introduced to Karolina's guardian boyfriend, Saveliy, as well as Paul and Zoya's father, Pyotr. Paul was ecstatic when he saw him. Apparently, he lived in Baia, but had to travel for work. He was a journalist. It was sweet, watching Paul run outside, into his arms, yelling 'papa!'

Dimitri and I were currently in the kitchen, discussing his, Sonya Karp's, and Adrian's research into spirit with Mark and Oksana, as well as the implications of being shadow kissed, without a bond. There was a large group of people listening in, including a bunch of Dimitri's childhood friends. Since people had discovered that spirit was the reason Lissa and I used to have a bond, people had also realised that that was Oksana's element. Thankfully, she wasn't being hounded.

"So you've died, not once, but _twice_?" An old friend of Dimitri's was talking. I couldn't remember his name. It was getting late, and my head was pounding. "How on earth are you still alive?"

"Well," I shrugged, "Heaven wouldn't accept me, and hell was afraid I'd take over, so, you guys got stuck with me." I was really trying not to show how much I wanted to go to bed.

My comment received a round of laughter, but I explained anyway that we knew that the first time, spirit was tethering me to the land of the living, but could only guess at what brought me back the second time. I didn't really want to talk about my 'deaths' however, so I excused myself, saying I saw someone I had to talk to. Dimitri shot me a concerned look as I walked down the hall, but his attention was grabbed my Oksana asking more about their research.

The doorbell rang as I reached it. I opened it to see Nikolai, with a woman I assumed was his mother, standing there.

"Hey, come on in!" I said. Nikolai greeted me warmly, and introduced me to his mother, before going into the house in search of more people. I then turned to the third person at the door, who I'd been hoping would just go past me without saying hello.

"Hey," I said, deciding on friendliness. Although Dennis didn't look all that thrilled to see me. "So, how've you been?"

"Better than you," Dennis said, eyeing my injuries. "Your strigoi do that?"

Fury shot through me. My _strigoi_, huh? I grew very angry at any allusion to Dimitri still being an undead monster, but reacted slightly better than Christian did. Last August, he'd set Ralph Sarcozy on fire again. Whatever look came over my face just then, made Dennis take a step back. Whilst highly skilled, I'd proven to be a much better fighter than him, and would win if things turned violent.

"I tripped," I said coldly. "I'd be careful tonight. You might trip as well."

I heard Dimitri come up behind me, saying "Perhaps it's best if you leave. It would be a shame to ruin the party."

Dennis' lip curled. "I think having a strigoi here might put more of a dampner on the festivities, wouldn't you?"

Before either of us could respond, a new voice had joined the discussion. Benedikt's.

"I would appreciate it," he said furiously, "If you could refrain from calling my son a strigoi. Rose is right. You might 'trip'."

Ben might be a moroi, but he was a very tall one. Dimitri was nearly as tall, not to mention a highly trained guardian. Then there was me, who Dennis knew for a fact that he couldn't beat. We weren't threatening him _exactly_, but he still decided to leave.

Once he left, Dimitri put an arm around my waist. "Are you okay? Was that Dennis Ivanov?"

"Yeah. I told you about Novisibirsk."

Dimitri tilted my head back, and peered into my eyes. "Perhaps you should rest."

I told him I was fine, but he was insistent. I only agreed to go and lie down for an hour, so I wouldn't miss the countdown. At eleven, when I came back downstairs, I discovered people were taking it in turns to sing in the sitting room. Making my way through the crowd, I saw Dimitri standing next to his father, talking about something. I discovered what once I reached them.

Ben called out something in Russian, too quickly for me to really understand, but I heard my name, 'singer', and 'great', in there. Oh boy.

"I am not singing," I said turning to Dimitri

"Why not? Come on, I've never heard you sing before."

"Yes you have!"

"No, I've heard you mumble songs along to the radio, or scream in the shower, but I've never actually heard you sing," Dimitri told me laughingly.

We were interupted by Nikolai calling out "Come on Rose!" He was echoed by a lot of people, so after a few more entreaties, I agreed. However I refused to be thrust into the middle of the room.

"It's going to be english," I called out, "Because my russian is pitiful." Dimitri translated, and that got a few laughs. Thinking for a moment, I decided on my favourite Christmas song: Mistletoe and Wine. When I was little, I'd refused to go to bed all through the month of December, unless someone sang it with me.

I could see two of Dimitri's friends, dramtically swaying their heads to the song, and had to fight back a laugh. Some people, the ones who knew english, started singing to the chorus. I took a bow, and was applauded, Dimitri pulling me closer to him when Paul and a few of the other children started singing next.

"You've been holding out on me," Dimitri whispered. "That was incredible, Roza."

That brought a smile to my face. What had me and Viktoria leaning on one another fo support, and choking on laughter, was when Karolina and Dimitri sang 'Fairytale of New York'. It was a great party. Maybe because of the look of shock on Dimitri's face when he realised I could count perfectly in russian during the countdown. Maybe because when Ben snuck a kiss from Olena, their children only grimaced good naturedly. Maybe, it was because this Christmas and New Year's, was a thousand times better, than last year. It didn't really matter, to be honest. As I snuggled closer to Dimitri, putting my head on his chest, listening to everyone sing a song I had never heard before, I was just glad to be here. That neither Heaven, nor hell had wanted me, so to speak.


	12. Christmas no 2

If every Christmas you've spent with your father, your mother was the one who picked out his present, it's not easy suddenly having to choose one yourself. You have know idea what he'll like, or need, is he allergic to this type of cologne, is he even a fan of this writer? Did mom get him this from me before? I didn't find it very funny when I was attempting to buy presents for my parents. I found it hilarious however, when Dimitri suddenly found himself in the same situation.

"What about this?" Dimitri held up a DVD of Chris Rock's latest comedy show. I knew Ben would hate it, and told him so. He put it back, sighing. It was the sixth of January, and Dimitri was getting desperate.

"Not so fun when the tables are turned, huh?" I asked teasingly. "It's moments like this, where you just _have_ to acknowledge the awesome power of Karma." Just like when I had been trying to pick out presents for my parents and Dimitri had found my lack of ideas funny, I was 'helping' him pick out a present for his father.

"Can you please just help, and not mock? I'm not even sure I want to get him anything."

"It _would_ be nice gesture, you know."

Since New Year's Eve, Dimitri and Benedikt had come to a sort of truce. Ben kept trying to talk to Dimitri, who now found it more awkward, than a cause for anger. He still didn't trust his father. Ben was persistant however, and seemed intent on having quality time with his son, and daughters. He had also helped Paul coerce me, Dimitri, Karolina and Viktoria into having an epic snowball fight in the park. Viktoria, Paul and I won. Ben was a really indulgent father, and a doting grandfather, who, I noticed, spoiled Viktoria, Paul, Zoya, and Rurik. He always had something for them, everyday, when he came by. He was staying in a hotel downtown. Olena might let him into house, but he didn't stay over. Although they'd gone out to dinner a few days ago. Dimitri had stayed up until she came home.

Browsing through the shelves of the video store, I saw something that I knew Ben would love. It was a set of five Clint Eastwood westerns. I'd bought him another set of five different ones, that I'd already sent to him two weeks ago. Pointing it out to Dimitri, he decided to buy them, having to take my word that Ben would love them. We then hurried back to the house so we could get ready for church. All night Divine Liturgy. It started at eight, and ended at around two, and I was staying for the whole thing. I went to church every Sunday back home, because both Dimitri and Lissa both wanted to go, but neither Dimitri, nor I were entirely sold on the existence of God. I was only going tonight, so as not to seem rude.

Just like at Easter, I found the russian chanting beautiful, but only understood a tiny bit more than I had then. At least I was making some progress. At midnight, Pyotr ended up carrying Paul back to the house, becasue he kept falling asleep in his arms. Karolina, Sonya and Saveliy went too. Because Pyotr wanted to spend Christmas morning with the kids, he was staying in Paul and Zoya's room that night. Saveliy was staying with Karolina, and Sonya and Rurik had moved into Viktoria's room. The was house was fit to burst.

Despite the late night, Paul still woke us all up at seven the next morning, eager for presents.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

I opened one bleary eye to look at the ten year old demon, bouncing on the bed. Dimitri rolled over onto his front, groaning. We'd only gotten four hours of sleep.

"What?" I grumbled, comtemplating burying my head underneath my pillow.

"It's Christmas! That means presents!"

"Didn't you get enough stuff from Grandfather Frost?" He was the russian Santa Clause. Only, he came on New Year's Eve, instead of Christmas Eve. Also, he was blue.

"Come on, you get presents too!" Paul stopped bouncing, and crawled in between us, trying to make Dimitri look at him. "Dyadya Dima, wake up!" When Dimitri didn't move, he looked at me. "Tetushka Rose, why won't he get up?"

I shrugged, but before I could say anything, Dimitri suddenly roared, lunging at Paul. He pinned him, and blew a raspberry on his stomach, then started to tickle him. After shrieking and frantically trying to get away, Dimitri let Paul up, who tore out of the room, Dimitri chasing him down the stairs. I dragged myself down a few minutes later, to discover Dimitri and Paul having a pillow fight with Pyotr in the sitting room. Not wanting to be left out, I grabbed a pillow and joined in on Pyotr's side. We were laughingly watched, and egged on, by Saveliy and Sonya. Karolina rolled her eyes and went to help her mother with breakfast. Viktoria and Yeva weren't up yet.

Ben came by with his guardians, at eight, just as we finished breakfast. Well, most of had finished. Dimitri had become had an incredibly slow eater since we'd been in Russia. It had been a cause for concern for Olena, as she thought he wasn't eating enough, but I'd quietly explained that he was rediscovering all those flavours, and he just wanted to savour every bite. He'd sped up a little with his eating habits back home since he'd gotten re-accustomed to american food.

We all crowded around the tree in the sitting room, to exchange gifts. Ben did indeed love the DVDs Dimitri had gotten him. He'd also apparently not opened _my_ gift, and had brought it with him to open today. We also went to _that_ morning's Divine Liturgy, before returning back for a delicious meal prepared by Olena. We just hung out together for the rest of the day, talking and laughing, Olena and Ben telling me all sorts of stories about when Dimitri was a kid. That reminded me.

"Hey Comrade," I said, turning to him suddenly. "How come you never told me you were married?"

"What?" he said confused.

"Well, I just want to know if I have to worry about any of your ex-wives."

"What on earth are you – " Comprehension dawned on his face. "Karolina!" He looked round at his older sister, who was laughing histerically. Everyone else joined in at the look on Dimitri's face, except for Saveliy, who just looked confused, but he was saved the trouble of asking when Pyotr cleared it up for him.

"I think I remember this, is this when you and your friends used to dress him up, so he could marry your dolls?"

Dimitri's cheeks went a little red, as we all started howling with laughter. Olena then showed us the wedding pictures. Dimitri just sat back in the chair, his face flushed. I kissed his cheek, and told him looked adorable. He grimaced at that, and begged his mother to burn the pictures. She refused, and poor Dimitri had to spend a good hour getting made fun of by Pyotr and Saveliy. He was rescued by Karolina, who had plenty of funny anecdotes about the two of them.

Sitting there, laughing with everyone, I felt right at home. And seeing Dimitri getting along with his father, was just icing on the cake. I used to feel nothing but resentment, whenever I thought of the fact that I'd been forced to participate in that show every year, but now I was glad I'd done it. I was glad I'd met Benedikt, that I'd been able to help convince Dimitri to give him a second chance. This really was the best Christmas ever.

**A/N:- 'Dyadya' is russian for 'uncle', and 'Tetushka' means 'auntie'. For anyone who was wondering, 'Tetya' is 'aunt'.**


End file.
